Philadelphia Union Notebook: Casey provides instantaneous punch

HARRISON, N.J. — Four games into the season, the Union finally showed their extra dimension Saturday.

That was in the 6-1 form of Conor Casey, who came on at the hour mark and scored the Union’s only goal in a 2-1 loss against the New York Red Bulls.

It’s the first real contribution from Casey this season, who was acquired in the re-entry draft after six successful seasons with the Colorado Rapids. After a solid preseason, he picked up a knock in the first game against Sporting Kansas City in which he played just six minutes. He hasn’t been on the field since prior to today.

But he immediately showed what he was capable of and why the Union staff thought so highly of him.

With the Union down a goal, he was introduced in place of Sebastien Le Toux, along with Antoine Hoppenot. The combination of speed and power entering the game jolted life into a Union team lacking initiative after halftime.

Casey immediately won a corner kick. When the corner was cleared, he rose to meet the throw-in from Sheanon Williams for the goal.

Casey’s quick impact is part and parcel of what manager John Hackworth means when he says he wants his team to play multiple systems. Instead of the 4-4-2 they started the match in, Casey became the center forward in a 4-3-3 set up. The fact that a goal followed is no coincidence.

“It’s good to be versatile,” Casey said. “We play against a lot of different teams and we have a lot of different guys on our team that bring a lot of different things to the table.”

It was a game perfectly suited for Casey. Against massive New York center backs Jamison Olave (6-3, 210 pounds) and Thomas Holgersson (6-2), Casey was the guy needed to hold up play while the likes of Hoppenot and Jack McInerney made runs off the ball.

Where Le Toux, a player who is neither particularly tall nor fast, faltered, Casey thrived.

“This is his first real minutes since opening day, and having him back, he gives us a different dimension,” Hackworth said. “We struggled holding the ball up before he came in, so having him in there is good because he can do that.”

He also managed to get in a couple of shots in tussles with Olave, whom he’s familiar with from the defender’s days with Real Salt Lake, and earned a yellow card for low-bridging goalkeeper Luis Robles.

“It felt really good,” Casey said of the physical play. “I feel healthy, and that’s nice. It feels good to get a couple hits, give a couple knocks and know that that’s not an issue.”

••• It’s been a rough few weeks for Danny Cruz. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Cruz made it three-for-three in games with shots to the head thanks to an errant elbow against New York.

On the injury count, there was a broken nose against Colorado, a shot to his already ailing face against New England that led to concussion symptoms and a withdrawal after just eight minutes, and then this. Adding insult to injury, he got a little extra punishment from Red Bulls forward Tim Cahill while he was on the ground, which drew the ire of defender Jeff Parke and a stern talking-to for both by the referee.

“I put myself in those spots. It’s partially my fault, but I’m OK with it,” Cruz said. “… I’ll never back down from anyone. I don’t care if it’s Olave or (New York defender) Connor Lade.”

Cruz, still sporting a sizeable lump on the side of his nose, has been one of the mainstays of the workmanlike efforts produced by the midfield this season. Even in the loss, Cruz provided several lung-busting runs in the 61 minutes before he was subbed even if the final pass wasn’t there.

The challenge now is to regroup, physically and mentally.

“It didn’t feel good to get elbowed in the head. Three games in a row it happens,” he said. “…I guess I have to just move on and try to get healthy.”

••• NOTES: Casey’s goal was the first in 287 minutes for the Union against the Red Bulls. … Defender Bakary Soumare wasn’t on the 18-man roster for the Union Saturday. The move has nothing to do with his trade request, according to team officials. The defender, who traveled to Mali for national-team duty last week, we rested to prevent fatigue. … New midfielder and designated player Kleberson watched the game from a luxury box with his family and Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz. He was acquired last week for Freddy Adu and will be formally introduced at some point this week.